


Feel You By My Side

by Adrianna99



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant ish, Dorks in Love, Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 06:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16382759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrianna99/pseuds/Adrianna99
Summary: The first time Viktor felt his soulmate, he woke up crying in the middle of the night.





	Feel You By My Side

**Author's Note:**

> This is my [victuri big bang](https://victuri-big-bang.tumblr.com/) fic! **So** much thanks to the amazing [Jo](https://muttthecowcatridesagain.tumblr.com/) for the art <3 The banner and beautiful paintings in the fic are made by her!
> 
> Brief warning for some minor injuries, I guess?
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

 

The first time Viktor felt his soulmate, he woke up crying in the middle of the night.  It started with a sharp pain in his ankle, radiating up his shin.

Viktor squirmed uncomfortably in bed, crying out as the pain pulsed, tears already wetting his cheeks, although he didn’t remember when he had begun to cry. The pain in his ankle flared up again and Viktor stumbled out of bed, blindly fumbling his way across the bedroom to turn on the light.  He fell to his hands and knees by the door and then carefully sat before pulling up the leg to his pajamas just as another wave of pain threatened to overtake him.

But… there was nothing wrong with his leg.Absolutely nothing.It looked completely normal, the skin pale and unbroken.

Nothing was wrong.

Viktor swallowed hard, reaching out to probe at his ankle.   _Nothing._  But, just as he was getting to his feet, another wave of pain nearly brought him to his knees.  Suddenly, a thought flashed through Viktor’s mind. He wasn’t hurt… but perhaps his soulmate could be!  His mama had always told him that true soulmates could feel what the other was feeling, to support each other through good times and bad, no matter the circumstance.  If Viktor had a soulmate, maybe… maybe that was why he hurt!

Viktor’s face crumpled.If he was hurting because of his soulmate, that meant that his soulmate was _also_ hurt, and unlike Viktor’s pain his soulmate’s wouldn’t go away.  

Viktor hobbled to his bed and sat, wracking his brain for some way to convey comfort to his soulmate.  He wasn’t quite sure exactly how the bond between soulmates worked- it stretched across cities, and countries, and oceans, even, to help the pair feel what the other was feeling.  But Viktor had no way to tell if his soulmate could feel him in return.He had never felt anyone else, not like this… so maybe this was the first time his soulmate was _feeling_ strong enough that it travelled to Viktor.  

Viktor pulled his knees up to his chest and locked his arms around them, thinking hard.  If it had taken this long for his soulmate’s feeling to reach him, his soulmate must be very far away.  So Viktor would have to _feel_ extra hard in return, to make sure it would actually reach the one he was trying to comfort.  

Viktor closed his eyes against the pain in his ankle and tried to focus on the most comforting things he could think of- his warm bed in the winter, his mama’s hugs, the clap on the shoulder his father had given him after his first gold medal- and then tried to push those feelings to his soulmate, wherever he was.  Nothing happened.The pain didn’t abate.

Viktor chewed on his lip, and then slowly reached out and wrapped his arms around himself in the best facsimile of a hug he could manage.This time, after hugging himself tight for a few minutes, heart beating fast with fear and childlike affection for his soulmate, he felt _something_.  Something like the ghost of a touch, like the long-gone feeling of a palm in his.  

Viktor stared down at his hands, eyes wide, and then dropped the hug and grabbed his own hand, squeezing tight and trying his best to push that feeling to his soulmate.  He wanted his soulmate to know that, even if they were tens or hundreds of miles away, Viktor wanted to hold onto him when he was hurting _and_ when he was happy.After a long moment, he felt a small squeeze back.

Despite the tears still welling in his eyes from the phantom pain he couldn’t place, Viktor smiled.He clambered back in bed and pulled his covers back over himself before taking his own hand again, lacing his fingers together and squeezing firmly.

He fell asleep dreaming of his soulmate.

 

 

*

The fall was quick, unexpected, merciless.  Yuuri had been trying to jump, like he had seen Yuuko do before, but instead of twisting gracefully through the air he jumped wrong, tripped, toppled over, smashing his leg against the ice and twisting his ankle.  

The pain took a moment to set in, about as much time as it took  Yuuko, waiting on the side of the rink for him, to call out a panicked “ _Yuuri!”_  

And then, in waves, the pain began to make itself known, slowly growing from his ankle and up his shin to his knees.  Yuuri clutched at his leg, tears welling in his eyes, and then yelped a little as pain shot up his leg again.

“Yuuri, oh my god, are you alright?” Yuuko exclaimed, almost tripping in her rush to get to him.  

Yuuri sniffled, trying valiantly to hold back his pained tears in front of his friend.“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said, and then pressed his forehead to his knee and shuddered.

“I’m going to go get my mom,” Yuuko said.  “I think your leg is broken!”

Yuuri shook harder, panic clawing at his lungs.The world fuzzed around him, blurred by his tears and the pain ringing in his ears.

Maybe it was a few minutes, or maybe a few seconds, before Yuuko came rushing back with a couple of adults and then hands were helping Yuuri to his feet, catching him when he cried out and fell, his leg throbbing, supporting him as he hobbled off the ice.  Yuuri was carried into the back room of the ice rink and settled on a couch, someone saying something about getting him ice.Yuuri was sure there was a joke in there somewhere, but his mind was too consumed with pain and anxiety to tease it out.

“It’s OK, Yuuri,” said Yuuko from somewhere next to him.“My mom says it’s not broken, probably just sprained.They’re gonna get you ice and then drive you to the hospital.”  

Yuuri took a deep shuddering breath and squeezed his eyes shut.He still had a death grip on his ankle, as if he hoped that he could hold it in place hard enough to get it to stop throbbing, burning.

And then he felt someone’s arms around his shoulders, as though he was being hugged.

Yuuri jerked on surprise, his eyes snapping open.Yuuko was next to him, kneeling next to him by the couch, her eyes wide and worried.No one was behind him.  

Yuuri shivered slightly.He must have imagined feeling a hug. But after a moment the feeling returned, soft and feather-light.“Yuuko,” Yuuri whispered, his voice trembling. Another jolt of pain spread up from his ankle, and he winced. 

“What is it?” Yuuko asked worriedly, reaching out to put a comforting hand on his leg before thinking better of it. 

“Someone is… Someone is hugging me!” Yuuri said.He felt the odd ghost hug shift slightly, and warmth seemed to spread for a moment from around his shoulders.  

“Yuuri, no one is there,” Yuuko started, and then she gasped. “Yuuri!It must be your soulmate!”

Yuuri blinked, and then almost cried out when he squeezed too hard on his ankle in his surprise.“You must be feeling your soulmate hugging you!” Yuuko said excitedly.“Aw, Yuuri, that’s so sweet!”

Yuuri stared down at his ankle, throbbing and beginning to swell beneath his fingers, and then slowly let go. He gasped his pain and then clasped at his own hand.He had no idea if his soulmate would feel him, would know what he meant- and then Yuuri felt a small, phantom squeeze back, and even through his pain managed to smile.  

The adults of the rink hurried back into the room, icing Yuuri’s ankle before helping him gobble to the car to drive him to the hospital.But even through the drive, through a checkup with a doctor, Yuuri refused to let go of his own hand, and alongside his own grip he felt the light, barely-there feeling of his soulmate.

And it was nice to think that, no matter how much pain he had been in, his soulmate had held his hand the entire time. 

***

“Yuuri, hurry up, it’s starting!” Yuuki said excitedly.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Yuuri laughed, sticking his head through the doorway.“Sorry!”He knelt down on the floor, and gently scooped up his small puppy Vicchan.“Come on, boy,” he cooed.“Time to watch your namesake skate!”Vicchan barked, licking Yuuri’s cheek, and Yuuri laughed.

“Yuuuuri!” Yuuko shouted.“He’s getting on the ice, come on!”

Yuuri rushed back into the dining room, Vicchan cradled in his arms, and plopped down next to his friend.“Sorry, did I miss anything?” he asked.

“Just the announcers listing every single gold Nikiforov’s ever won in his entire life,” Takeshi grumbled from Yuuko’s other side.He was supposedly only there to watch the Figure Skating World Championships grudgingly, but Yuuri had seen him get rather into the skating sometimes despite what he claimed.

"Gold and silver at his GPF qualifiers and bronze at the Finals, silver at Europeans," Yuuri recited from memory."Even though he was robbed and should have won gold."

"Sure," Takeshi drawled.

“He was!” Yuuri insisted.Vicchan huffed as though in agreement and then curled up in Yuuri’s lap and went to sleep.“He was way underscored on PCS,” Yuuri said.“If the judges even had _hearts_ they would know that!”

“Hush, it’s starting!” Yuuko scolded gently, elbowing Yuuri playfully in the side, and Yuuri fell silent before turning his attention to the rink displayed on the screen.Sure enough, as they watched Viktor skated out onto the ice, one arm raised in a wave to the screaming audience.

“His hair is so pretty,” Yuuko sighed dreamily, resting her chin on her hand.

Yuuri gulped, blushing.“I like his skating best,” he mumbled.

Takeshi snorted loud enough to rouse Vicchan from his slumber for a moment, and then the puppy licked Yuuri’s hand before going back to sleep.Yuuri cuddled his puppy close as Viktor skated to the center of the ice, taking his opening position with one arm raised and the other almost dangling by his side, fingers curled gracefully.

He was skating to the _Lilac Fairy_ for his free skate, and Yuuri had watched his performances enough that he was able to hum along to the opening bars of music before his breath caught in his throat as Viktor started to skate.

It wasn’t hard to make Yuuri cry, but there was nothing that brought him to tears quicker than the beauty of Viktor’s skating.With each graceful spin and elegant jump Yuuri felt the well of emotion rise within him, his heart practically beating out of his chest.Yuuko gasped aloud when Viktor jumped, attempting and landing a quad toe loop.

“Wow!” she gasped, and Takeshi hummed in grudging agreement.Vicchan shifted in Yuuri’s lap as Yuuri hugged him close, pressing his face into his fur for a moment before returning his eyes to the TV.

And then, Viktor fell.

He set himself up for another quad toe loop, but Yuuri could tell somehow as Viktor left the ice that he wasn’t going to land it, thathis fall was going to be hard and painful.Sure enough, Viktor under rotated, stumbled, hit the ice with a hand and a knee.Yuuri winced in sympathy at the impact, the ghost of pain radiating through his wrist.His teeth gritted, Viktor pushed off the ice and continued skating, but Yuuri could tell that something was off.His knee throbbed, but he ignored it in favor of leaning forward, watching the TV intently.

“Come on, come on, you can do it,” he whispered in English, his breathing quick and tight.“You’ve got this, Viktor!” By his side Yuuko and Takeshi were silent, breathless.

Viktor went for another jump, changing one of his doubles to a triple in an attempt to make up some of the points he had lost, but even though he landed it his landing was wobbly at best.The camera changed to a shot focused on Viktor’s face, and Yuuri’s eyes widened.Viktor was no longer smiling angelically, but frowning, concentrating hard.His brows were knit with pain, the line of his jaw tight.

“Please,” Yuuri whispered.“You can do it, Viktor!”

Vicchan yipped, wriggling in Yuuri’s lap until Yuuri let go of him, and then he settled just at Yuuri’s knee.The camera zoomed back out and Yuuri could tell by the way that Viktor was skating that he was setting himself up for another jump.Yuuri gasped out loud when Viktor jumped, trying to land another quad.But his form was all wrong, and he barely made four rotations before tumbling to the ice, hitting his shoulder and leg.Yuuri’s own side smarted, and Yuuri absently rubbed at his aching ribs.

Viktor struggled to his feet, but anyone could tell that he was in pain, favoring his side for the last minute or so of the performance.When he ended his form wasn’t as perfect as it had always been, his back a little less straight.  The camera zoomed in again, and Yuuri’s heart panged when he saw that Viktor was obviously struggling to hold back tears.

Viktor relaxed his position after a few moments and began to skate towards the edge of the ice, his face tight with pain.Yuuri cried out, grasping at his ribs even as Viktor stumbled a little.

“Yuuri, what’s the matter?” Yuuko said worriedly.

“I… I’m fine,” Yuuri gasped, watching intently as Viktor hobbled off the ice, clutching at his side.Yuuri squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, taking deep breaths that did little to help the sudden, aching pain in his side, and when he opened them again Viktor was seated in the kiss and cry, staring down at his feet while his coach talked to him in a low voice, leaning close.

Viktor nodded, and then shook his head, and then turned away from his coach altogether.The camera just caught a flicker of pain flash across his face.Yuuri gritted his teeth, his heart jumping into his throat as the pain in his side flared.

“Yuuri, are you sure you’re alright?” Yuuko asked, reaching over to mute the TV.“You really don’t look alright.”

“I’m fine,” Yuuri managed to say, swallowing.“I must have slept funny or something.”

“What’s the matter?” Takeshi asked curiously.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Yuuri insisted.

Yuuko looked back and forth between Yuuri, clutching at his side, and then Viktor on the TV, sitting in the kiss and cry and clutching at his side.“Yuuri,” she said cautiously.“When… when did this pain start?”

“I’m fine, it just started a few minutes ago, I’m sure it will go away,” Yuuri said.Vicchan whined, nosing at Yuuri’s leg.

“A few minutes ago,” Yuuko murmured.“You mean… when Viktor got hurt?”

Yuuri’s head snapped up.“What are you trying to say?” he asked.

Yuuko bit her lip.“I’m just saying… it seems like you’re feeling the same pain he’s feeling,” she said slowly, quietly.“That’s all.”

Yuuri turned his face away from her, back to the TV, in time to catch sight of Viktor’s scores.They were low, and even his incredible short program score wouldn’t be enough to keep him on the podium.His face carefully stoic, Viktor got to his feet before doubling over in pain, clutching at his side.

Yuuri gasped as his own pain flared, curling up into a ball.“No, that can’t be possible,” he whispered into his knees.“I can’t be actually feeling Viktor’s pain.”

“But you must be,” Yuuko insisted.“And that would mean…”

“That would mean,” Yuuri continued.“That we are… soulmates.”

 

 

***

Viktor was 26, and had lost his inspiration just as he had lost hope that he would ever find his soulmate.

He was still a champion, yes, and as arrogant as he knew it was he was quite sure that he would win his fifth Grand Prix Final in a row in Sochi.But skating didn’t bring him the joy it once had.Some mornings he dreaded getting out of bed.At night, sleepless, sometimes he thought about the day that would surely come when he would step onto the ice and feel _nothing_.Nothing but numbness, empty and flat.

And, just as he worried about his inspiration, Viktor worried about his soulmate.They had felt each other a couple times over the years, a soft brush of hands or a banged knee or a twisted ankle, but nothing more than that.Nothing like all the romantic movies Viktor had watched, where two soulmates would think about loving each other and trace letters on their skin for the other miles and miles away.

Viktor had tried that, once, when he was twenty one and drunk and painfully lonely.There had been no reply, not even a brush or a pinch.It had _hurt_.

Viktor had stopped trying, after that night.He didn’t want to hurt like that.Maybe, with his soulmate, it was _better_ to be numb.Every day that passed, the likelihood that they would find each other waned.Most people had found their soulmate by the time they were in their early twenties, the two souls moving heaven and earth to be together.And as Viktor crept closer to thirty his hope faded as the yawning loneliness in his chest gaped wider every day.

“Viktor, what are you thinking about that’s got you so glum?” Christophe Giacometti said, coming up behind Viktor as he brooded and slinging one arm around his shoulder.

Viktor looked up sharply, a little surprised.“I’m not glum,” he said automatically, flashing Christophe a manufactured smile.

Chris snorted.“Sure.”He patted Viktor on the back.“You’re ahead in the short program, and you’re just about set to win your fifth GPF in a row.What’s the matter?”

Viktor shook his head. “Nothing, I’m fine,” he said, and then plastered a smile on his face again.“Have the free skates started yet?”

Chris studied him critically for a moment, and then withdrew his arm and nodded.“Yes, Crispino and Leroy have already gone, Katsuki is about to get on the ice.Do you want to watch?”

Viktor shrugged a little listlessly.“Sure.”He followed Chris to a different warmup room, where there was a TV set up so that the other skaters could watch their fellow competitors.Cao Bin and JJ Leroy were already standing in front of the TV, Leroy looking very pleased with himself.Michele Crispino was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Viktor,” Leroy said with a smirk as Viktor and Chris entered.“You’d better watch out, I might just take your throne this year with _JJ Style!”_ He flashed a symbol with his fingers, and Viktor blinked.“Um.”

“He’s in first right now,” Chris murmured in French from Viktor’s left.

Viktor nodded slightly and then turned his attention to the TV, where Katsuki was standing by the entrance onto the ice, talking to his coach.Viktor’s brow furrowed slightly.He didn’t know Katsuki very well, but the younger man seemed to be upset, frowning tiredly and rubbing at his eyes.“Hey, do you know if he’s alright?” he murmured, nudging Chris in the ribs before gesturing towards the TV.

Chris blinked.“I don’t know, he’s probably fine,” he replied.“Why, do you know him?”

Viktor shook his head absently, watching as Katsuki’s coach clapped him on the back before the skater shakily stepped onto the ice.Viktor could tell, even before Katsuki took his starting position, that the skate wasn’t going to go well.And go well, it did not.

Katsuki fell on his second jump, skidding painfully across the ice on one side.Viktor winced in sympathy, phantom pain flashing across the same side.He knew all too well what it was like to fall like that, could almost _feel_ it.Katsuki pushed himself to his feet again, his face set and hard, and attempted another jump that led to a tumble.Viktor cringed, almost feeling the jolt run up his leg.

Katsuki stumbled through the rest of his skate, his movements jerky, and Viktor thought about the beautiful PCS the other man usually had.It was a shame.He hoped this wouldn’t take Katsuki out of the competition permanently.

As Katsuki shuffled off the ice after the end of his skate, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed, Viktor ached for him.

It wouldn’t occur to him until much later that that ache wasn’t _just_ sympathy.

***

Yuuri settled into the last position of his free skate as the final strains of _Yuri on Ice_ echoed around the arena.His heart felt like it was ready to beat out of his chest, and a happy sob welled up in his chest.He had skated his best, and he had jumped a _quadruple flip_ , and at the end of his program no less! If anything would tell Viktor how Yuuri felt through the language of skating, it would _have_ to be this.

Yuuri turned to where Viktor was waiting with his hands over his face, and brief worry panged in his chest.Was Viktor mad?Unable to control the grin on his face Yuuri skated towards the entrance to the rink, his arms outstretched.

“Viktor! I did great, right?” he called.

And then Viktor was running towards him, his arms open, leaping- kissing him.

Yuuri’s eyes went wide as Viktor’s lips crashed into his, Viktor’s arms around him, protecting him, even as they fell to the ice.And, as Viktor leaned up slightly to gaze down at Yuuri, Yuuri could feel not only the ice against his back but against his palms, his knees.

But not _his_ palms.

Not _his_ knees.

Viktor seemed to come to the realization at the same time, his eyes going wide.“Yuuri…” he whispered, and then brushed his fingers over Yuuri’s face before startling.

“Viktor…” Yuuri whispered back.He swallowed hard, licked his lips, and then brushed his fingers through Viktor’s bangs.At the same time, phantom fingers brushed through his own hair.“Oh my god,” Yuuri whispered, and then Viktor leaned down and kissed him on the lips again, smiling.

Yuuri kissed back, adrenaline and joy thrumming through his veins.

_It was Viktor.It had always been Viktor.Viktor was his soulmate._

*

“What are we?” Yuuri asked as soon as they were alone, back in their hotel room after the medal ceremony.

Instead of answering, Viktor lifted the silver medal still around Yuuri’s neck with his fingertips.“It’s not gold,” he said seriously, and then met Yuuri’s eyes.“But I could still kiss it if you wanted.”

Yuuri went bright red.“Viktor, what are we?” he said again.

Viktor sighed quietly, letting the medal rest against Yuuri’s chest again.He crossed the room and sat down on the bed, gesturing for Yuuri to join him.Yuuri anxiously fiddled with his medal, but sat down next to him.Viktor carefully took Yuuri’s hand, cupping it between his own like it was something precious, and said softly, “What do you _want_ to be, Yuuri?We’re soulmates, that much is obvious.”He swallowed hard.“But I completely understand if, after all this time, you would rather not be fated to be with me.I understand if you want to stay… friends.”

Yuuri swallowed hard.His hands were trembling slightly, and his heart was still racing with adrenaline after winning silver on the ice and then getting kissed for it, after finding out that the man he was quickly falling in love with was his _soulmate_.“I don’t want to just be friends,” he whispered.“And I don’t want this to be a fling… I know we’ve only known each other for a little while, but… I want this.”

Viktor gazed at him, eyes gentle.He gripped Yuuri’s hand a little tighter, and lifted it to his lips, giving Yuuri a tiny kiss on his fingers.“I don’t want a fling,” Viktor said, meeting his eyes.He waited until Yuuri made eye contact back before continuing.“Darling.Yuuri, I don’t want a fling, because I want so much more.If you’re willing, if you’re truly OK with being my soulmate… I want _everything_ with you.”

Yuuri looked up sharply.“Really?”Viktor nodded seriously.“Yuuri, I-”He took a deep breath, and then said, “I think I started to fall for you the first time I met you.Over the past few months, really getting to know you… I can’t help myself.I’ve fallen for you.Before I had even guessed that you would be my soulmate.But now, now that we know…” He looked up, eyes wet.

“You’re serious?” Yuuri asked in a trembling voice, unable to stop the swell of hope in his chest.“You… love me?”

“Very serious,” Viktor replied.  "I love you."He gently brushed a few strands of hair out of Yuuri’s face.

Yuuri bit his lip, trying not to tear up.Everything felt surreal, like he was in a dream.He _must_ be in a dream.That was the only explanation for how his idol could possibly be holding his hand and confessing that he had feelings for him.The only explanation for really, _truly_ being soulmates with and head over heels for Viktor Nikiforov.

“Yuuri?” Viktor said softly, eyes wide and vulnerable.

“I… I love you too,” Yuuri mumbled.His words were getting jumbled up somewhere between his brain and his mouth.

Viktor gazed at him, gentle and shining with happiness.“Can I kiss you, Yuuri?” he whispered.

Yuuri nodded wordlessly, overcome.Viktor slowly cupped Yuuri’s face with one hand, keeping the fingers of his other hand laced with Yuuri’s, and then carefully leaned forward and pressed his lips to Yuuri’s.Yuuri sighed happily, not at all surprised at how soft Viktor's lips were.The Russian man kissed him carefully, tenderly, thumb stroking Yuuri's cheek as his lips moved.Yuuri made a tiny, pleased sound, and couldn't resist running his fingers through Viktor's soft bangs.

And suddenly, he felt _it_ , the same feeling he had when Viktor had kissed him on the ice, when his soulmate had held his hand and comforted him as a child.He felt as one with Viktor, two souls with the same love.The kiss felt _more_ , deeper, more meaningful.

So _this_ was what it was like to kiss your soulmate.It filled an ache within Yuuri that he hadn’t even known existed with so much love that Yuuri thought he was going to overflow.

Viktor broke the kiss after a long moment but stayed close, close enough that their noses brushed and their breath mingled in the space between their lips."Wow," Viktor whispered, sounding awed, and Yuuri knew he had felt the same thing in their kiss.

A smile bloomed on Yuuri's face.“Wow,” he repeated.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Viktor whispered, brushing his knuckles over Yuuri's cheekbone.

Yuuri could feel himself blushing."I've probably wanted to kiss you longer," he blurted.

Viktor laughed quietly."So it's a contest, is it?" he said."I guess I'll just have to make up for lost time."

He leaned in again, kissing Yuuri a little harder, with an almost desperate edge.The feeling one oneness came back and Yuuri relished in it, in his connection to his soulmate.He exhaled sharply, shifting a little closer to Viktor on the bed.Viktor slid his hand to cup the back of Yuuri’s neck, and pulled lightly at his bottom lip.Yuuri gave an embarrassing little whimper, and Viktor chuckled, breaking the kiss and pulling him into a hug.

“You’re so cute, Yuuri,” he said fondly.

Yuuri returned the hug, resting his chin on Viktor’s shoulder.“I’m so glad to have found you,” he whispered.“I… I almost thought I wouldn’t.After so long, I thought maybe…”

“Me too,” Viktor whispered.“But now we’re together, now we know…”He pulled away a little, brushing Yuuri’s bangs out of his eyes, kissing the tip of his nose.“Now we know,” he repeated in a whisper.“I love you, Yuuri, my soulmate.”

Yuuri smiled, eyes prickling a little.“I love you too.”

***

_I love you, Vitya,_ a warm finger traced on Viktor’s forearm from half a mile away.

Viktor grinned, readjusting his grip on Makkachin’s leash in his hand before tracing back several hearts.Yuuri had apparently just gotten up, and was thinking about Viktor with enough love to send him a message. _Be home in a few,_ Viktor promised, and then felt a phantom squeeze of his fingers, hug around the waist, and brush on the cheek.

He smiled down at Makkachin.“We have the _best_ Yuuri, don’t we?” he said. Makkachin, her tongue happily lolling out of her mouth, barked in reply.

Viktor waited patiently for Makkachin to do her business at the base of a tree before picking up coffee for himself and Yuuri on the way home.The smell of breakfast filled their apartment when Viktor unlocked the door, and Makkachin made a beeline for the kitchen as soon as she was off her leash.

“I’m home!” Viktor called with a grin, setting the coffees down for a moment to take off his jacket.

“I’m in here,” Yuuri replied warmly.Viktor wandered into the kitchen with the coffees in hand to find Yuuri at the stove in a too big t-shirt and threadbare socks, frying eggs.Viktor pecked him on the cheek and, as usually happened when he was thinking about how much he loved his husband, felt the ghost of a kiss on his own cheek as well.

“Mm, awesome, thank you,” Yuuri said with a grin, turning off the stove and taking one of the coffees from Viktor’s hand.He leaned up and planted a kiss on Viktor’s lips, and Viktor smiled into the familiar sensation of his soulmate’s touch.

“Of course, my darling,” he replied when their kiss ended.

Yuuri smiled at him, and then turned his attention back to the stove.“Would you mind getting plates?” he asked.

Viktor set his own coffee down before quickly grabbing plates from the cupboard.As he set the table he felt Yuuri trace another surreptitious heart onto the back of his hand.“Sappy this morning, aren’t we?” Viktor teased, latching onto his husband’s back and kissing the nape of his neck.

Yuuri giggled.“I can’t be sappy every morning?”

“I’m not objecting,” Viktor mumbled, burying his face in the back of Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri laughed again, craning his neck to kiss Viktor on the jaw.

Viktor sighed happily, closing his eyes and soaking in the warmth of Yuuri in his arms.Together, almost as close as possible, just as they were meant to be.Viktor had found his soulmate, the love of his life.

And he had never been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! And thanks again to the incredible [Jo](https://muttthecowcatridesagain.tumblr.com/), her art can he found on tumblr [here](https://muttthecowcatridesagain.tumblr.com/post/179334708253/yuuri-turned-his-face-away-from-her-back-to-the), so please check it out and send her some love!
> 
> Feel free to comment/ask questions or talk to me [here](https://iwritebetterthanispeak.tumblr.com/), and have a lovely day, dear reader!


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